The Thorns of Love
by mikanlove
Summary: Who knew that such a simple rose could lead to such an uncalled for situation? Misaki Ayuzawa must become Takumi Usui's "replacement rose" after her father accidentally destroyed his real one. After years of trying to figure out how to break the curse of his household, he finally might've discovered the answer. After all, there's a cure to everything—and that's love.
1. Chapter 1

**THIS IS A BEAUTY AND THE BEAST SPINOFF!**

 **I've always wanted to do a fairytale spinoff with my OTP, so here it is!**

 **Clearing up any misunderstandings: I am NOT rewriting Secluded Lovers. I AM rewriting Law's Affair (did first chapter woo) and honestly I don't know if I should just discontinue Secrets of a Slave or not?**

 **If someone wants to adopt that story (Secrets of a Slave) I'll let you fyi. That was the first multi-chapter story I've written and just kinda lost motivation for it so yeah.**

 **Anyway, you didn't click on this fic to hear me rant about my other fics.**

 **By the way, I don't know if anyone else does this but like I already wrote chapter 3 or 4 for this story for some reason and I've written like chapter 40ish for Secluded Lovers lmao XD I feel like that's not good to do but whatever :'(**

 **Now finally this A/N has ended, so enjoy the story!**

 **-o-**

"Hey Dad, welcome back!"

Both the raven haired girls stood in the kitchen of their house—the younger sister could be seen scooping fluffy white rice out of the steaming rice cooker, while the elder one was setting up the small, round dinner table.

"Thanks girls," he gave them a gentle smile. Gazing at a picture frame, his smile widened as his eyes landed upon the familiar raven haired woman. "And hello, Minako." he greeted, tipping his hat ever so slightly towards the picture. Most would call him crazy if they'd seen this interaction—especially since it's been eight years since they lost her—but to his two daughters, it was saddening and heartwarming at the same time.

"Dinner's ready," the older of the two informed him, setting a clean white plate on the table. Her father—Sakuya Ayuzawa—took off his hat and hung it on a nearby coat rack.

"Smells good. What are we having tonight, Suzuna?" he inquired. The girl finished scooping out the last of the rice and shut the rice cooker with a satisfying click.

"Curried rice," she replied in a monotone voice. Sakuya hummed in appreciation. Suddenly, they all heard a loud crashing sound as a plate slipped from the other girl's hands and onto the floor.

"Misaki, are you okay?" Sakuya asked worriedly, rushing over to his eldest daughter. She nodded meekly and bent down to pick the glass up, only to be stopped by him. "Don't. I'll clean it up." he said.

"No, it's fi—"

"Misaki." he said in a no-nonsense tone. She stood up and decided to back off for now. He gingerly picked up the shards of glass one by one and discarded of them in a nearby trash can. "Is something bothering you?" he asked her.

"Huh?" Misaki asked, a bit surprised by the sudden question.

"Something's on your mind, Misaki. I know there is," he continued. She glanced at Suzuna as if asking for assistance out of the situation, though her younger sister only gave her a sorry glance before turning her full attention back to cooking.

With a sigh, Misaki finally decided to speak what was on her mind. "You're leaving tomorrow." she stated. It wasn't a question—the three of them already knew it.

Sakuya let out a dry laugh. "Only for a week. And you know it's for work," he said. Misaki shrugged.

"I know." she replied. Standing up, Sakuya cleared his throat as if he were about to give a speech.

"How about I bring you guys back a little something?" he suggested.

" _No._ " Misaki and Suzuna immediately rejected simultaneously. Both girls weren't big spenders, and definitely didn't want their dad to waste his hard-earned money on petty gifts for them. Sakuya laughed at their predictable behavior. _Just like their mother,_ he thought.

"Come on, what's something you've always wanted?" he prompted. Misaki and Suzuna shared a single glance, their lips pressed together tightly. Sakuya sighed. Sensing his discomfort in this kind of situation, and knowing that all he wanted to do was see them happy, Misaki was first to speak up.

"A rose." she answered. Suzuna gave her a questioning glance, but went along with it.

"Yes, I also want a rose," Suzuna said. "They're very pretty. I've seen them in movies a lot." she said, trying to sound convincing. Sakuya raised an eyebrow at such a strange request—after all, most girls would die for such an opportunity to have a new expensive necklace or purse. But, _of course_ , he remembered, these two weren't just any girls. They were _his_ girls.

"Of course," he responded with a smile. "Two beautiful roses for my two beautiful girls," he said. They both grinned at their successful plan and the compliment.

"Food's done. Let's eat." Suzuna announced, bringing a hot pan over to the table and placing an even amount of the curried rice onto everyone's plates.

-o-

 **One day later**

"I'm running late!" Sakuya exclaimed. He jumped on his horse and waved to his two daughters. "Goodbye! See you in a week's time!" he called.

"Bye! Have a safe journey!" Misaki smiled.

"Forget about the roses if you please as well," Suzuna added. Neither of the two girls exactly cared about the gift, though Sakuya did kind of force them into choosing _something._

"No can do! I'd do anything to make my girls happy," he said. Pulling on the reins and jerking them slightly, the horse began to move. He waved at them one last time before setting off in the direction he was headed.

When he was out of sight, Misaki spoke, "Ah, that's right. I'm off to work."

"Bye nee-chan. Get there and back safely."

"I will."

-o-

Sakuya rode his horse fast as he could, before letting out a groan when he realized how late he was running. _There has to be a faster way to get there…_

Then, of course, like a miracle, he rested his eyes upon a forest. Perfect. He could easily reach his destination significantly faster if he travelled through the forest.

He pulled on the reins of the horse and had it turn sharply. They took off quickly into the forest, the lighting turning much darker the further in the got.

-o-

"Welcome home, Master!" Misaki recited, a fake smile plastered on her face. _Only half an hour of work left…_ she reminded herself.

Yes, Misaki Ayuzawa _hated_ her job. She worked in a maid café with very unfriendly employees, but she had to put up with it everyday because the pay here was much better than most other places… She'd often have to remind herself "it's this or food", and imagining starving Suzuna and her father was solely enough motivation for her.

"Misaki, come to the back," someone called. Misaki recognized the voice as one of the other maids—her name was Tsubaki, or something like that. She headed to the back as she was instructed to.

"Yes?" she asked.

"You've been working hard girl. All of us agreed on this. We got the rest of your shift," she assured Misaki. Her voice had a slight accent to it, but it definitely wasn't strong enough to the point where it was hard to understand what she was saying.

"Thank you Tsubaki." Misaki said with a small bow. _Wow, this is a first._ she thought. Well, if she had to choose anyone to call _friendly_ , it would definitely be Tsubaki. She often helped Misaki with small favors, which she appreciated.

"No problem."

-o-

"Ah!"

Sakuya was thrown roughly against the ground as his chestnut brown horse ran off. He had no clue what came over it to do such a thing—Chess was usually such a good horse, what had happened?

Suddenly, a loud howling sound sent shivers down his spine. He gritted his teeth together as his question was soon answered. _Wolves._

The howling sounds got louder and louder—in other words, meaning the wolves were getting closer. He gulped. Sakuya attempted to scramble back up onto his feet, but horribly failed as his aching leg he'd hurt from the fall caused him to crumble back onto the dirt-covered ground.

Soon enough, he saw the creatures emerge from the darkness of the trees. He gasped in horror, his daughter's faces flashing in his mind.

 _No…Misaki, Suzuna, I can't leave you two!_

With shaky hands, he picked up a stick and threw it at one of the wolves. Unfortunately, this only angered it further as an inhumane sound erupted from its throat.

Sakuya cringed as they advanced on him. He closed his eyes. This was it. This was the end. Just like his wife, he'd have to leave his daughters. _I guess I'll see her in Heaven…_

 _CRASH!_

The whimpering sounds of— _puppies_ could be heard as they fled from the forest. Sakuya cautiously popped one of his eyes open and glanced around.

"Oh my gosh, are you okay?"

Sakuya's eyes snapped to a young woman kneeling beside him. She looked around Misaki's age, and her head was covered by a cloak-like hood. All he could see was that her eyes were a pinkish color.

"Sakura, what should we do?"

He turned his head to the other side and noticed a young man now kneeling beside him as well. He didn't wear a hood, and you could easily make out the outline of his blonde, messy hair, along with his reddish brown eyes.

"Bring him back to the castle, of course," came the girl's high pitched voice.

"I don't think Takumi would like that." the boy said. You could tell from his voice that he was frowning without even having to look at him.

"Don't be such a worry wart, Kuuga! It'll be fine." she retorted. The boy named Kuuga let out a sigh.

"If you say so."

-o-

"Thanks for your hospitality."

"You're welcome…Sakuya-san, right?" Sakura responded.

"Yes," he replied, a small smile on his lips. He sipped the warm tea out of his cup. "I should head back soon to my daughters."

"Daughters? Omigosh, I bet they're cute!" she squealed. "How old are they?"

"My youngest is fourteen and my eldest is seventeen."

"Ooh! Wish I could meet them sometime," Sakura cooed. Kuuga sat back in his chair, ignoring the conversation and sipping some tea as well.

"I'll bring you back. Let's leave soon." Kuuga said. Sakura nodded in agreement.

"Yeah. That's probably a good idea," she agreed. "I'll go prepare a horse," she said. Kuuga made a sound of acknowledgement.

Once Sakura left the room, Sakuya cleared his throat.

"So, how long have you lived here?"

"Why do you care?" he asked. "But I've lived here for about twelve years."

 _Twelve?!_

"Mmm." he hummed, and left it at that. Peering out the window, Sakuya noticed something peculiar. It was the reflection of…

 _A rose?_

Sakuya spun around, and only then did he notice that there was indeed a glowing rose sitting inside a glass case. It almost appeared to be _levitating._ He didn't even have time to notice how strange this was and how frightened he should be, since the only thought running through his head was _Misaki and Suzuna would love it._

Before he realized what he was doing, he found himself walking on his still slightly aching leg—since they'd treated it, his leg was better but still not in perfect condition—and reaching out for the caged rose.

"Oh, Sakuya, by the way," Kuuga spoke, turning his head in the direction of the older man. His eyes widened and his jaw dropped as he saw what he was doing. "STOP!" he exclaimed—but it was too late. Sakuya had taken off the glass case and was holding the rose in his hand.

It felt light, and had no thorns on it. It felt almost as if impossible to snap, and even if you attempted to it would only bend. The majestic aura still remained around it even in his hands, and he could almost feel the sparkles(?) it was emitting.

Suddenly, the rose turned a dull red color and the stem flopped into his palm. The rose felt as if it'd gained a bit of weight—it wasn't as floaty and magical-looking as before either. He watched as one, two, three petals fell to the floor by his feet. The leaf hanging off the stem plucked itself off as well and floated to the floor to join the petals.

Kuuga watched this all occur, chanting in his head over and over _I'm so dead, so dead, so dead, so dead…!_

"Ah," Sakuya said. "Sorry about that."

 _Sorry?! SORRY?! You old man, Takumi's going to have my head for this and—_ Kuuga's thoughts were disrupted by an especially loud though familiar voice.

"WHAT HAPPENED TO MY ROSE?!"

 _Fuck._

He stumbled back. "I'm very sorry sir. I'll buy you a bouquet of roses—" Sakuya tried to bargain.

"I DON'T NEED YOUR APOLOGIES, I NEED THAT _ROSE!"_ he bellowed. _Damn it, I will NOT be trapped in this form forever! I WILL NOT!_ he thought. Only then did Sakuya look the man—no, the _creature_ in the eye.

Then he did the only sensible thing a man who'd just seen a beast would do.

He screamed at the top of his lungs.

" _HELP!_ I'M JUST A FATHER WHO WANTED TO TAKE CARE OF HIS DAUGHTERS IS THAT SO BAD?!" he exclaimed. The creature looked angry, but soon had an expression on his face—almost like a _smirk_ , before letting out a dark chuckle.

"Daughters you say?" he inquired. This could work to his advantage after all.

Sakuya gulped. "Y-Yes…why?" _Fantastic. All I need is a replacement rose, and I'll find out some way to break this curse!_ the beast inwardly planned.

"I'm taking one of them." he informed Sakuya. The man froze and stared at the creature before him as if he'd grown two heads.

"Are you mad?! There's no way in hell I'm handing Misaki nor Suzuna over to the likes of you!" _Misaki and Suzuna, huh?_

The beast lifted his sharp nails—no, claws—and grinned to reveal his glistening and absolutely terrifying teeth.

"You can hand her over or I'll take her by force." he said. "I'll be expecting you by tomorrow. Now _get the hell out of my castle._ "

He didn't have to ask him twice before Sakuya took off running, not bothering or even wanting to look back.


	2. Chapter 2

"What?!" Misaki exclaimed. "You can't be serious. It was a _rose_ for God's sake, not some prized possession!" she argued. There was currently a blonde haired man and pink haired girl standing at the Ayuzawa household's door.

"That rose _was_ our master's most prized possession." the blonde scoffed. He held out his hand. "So, which girl am I taking?" he inquired. The pink haired girl clung onto his other arm, her eyes watery.

"Kuuga, we shouldn't do this! It's wrong!" she whispered to him—quite loudly, loud enough for Misaki to hear.

"I know, but we have to! Takumi will kill us if we don't, Sakura." he whispered back, his voice considerably softer than the girl's.

"Oh, nee-chan, do we have visitors?"

A girl with raven black pigtails that hung over her shoulders came into view. She stared at Sakura and Kuuga, and nobody was quite sure what she was feeling at that moment since she always kept a stoic expression on her face.

"Visitors my ass," Misaki grumbled under her breath. Suzuna, with her sharp ears, heard exactly what her sister said.

"Oh? Are you guys here to hurt my nee-chan?" she questioned, her eyes narrowing at the duo in front of them. Sakura and Kuuga both shivered beneath her hardening glare, though the blonde masked it better than the girl.

"U-Um, no!" Sakura squeaked. "I just—"

But the girl didn't even have time to finish her sentence before the door was slammed in her face. She stood there, wide-eyed, obviously astonished at what had just occurred.

With a sigh, the blonde spoke. "Guess we'll have to report this back to Takumi…" he murmured. Sakura nodded meekly.

-o-

"So, they refuse to come, huh?" he chuckled darkly.

"Takumi, calm down. Nobody would gladly comply to being held hostage at a castle," a blonde haired lady reasoned, bringing a glass of red wine to her lips and taking a sip. Said _man_ didn't calm down one bit and instead let out an angry huff.

"Why do you say that as if I'm planning to kidnap someone?" he asked, leaning his head atop his hand. The woman rolled her eyes.

"Technically, you _are_ kidnapping someone."

"No, I'm not."

"Taking them by force and trapping them in your home? Sounds like kidnapping to me," she said, swirling the deep red liquid around in her glass. "So, what's the plan now, genius?" she inquired sarcastically.

"Hold back your sarcastic remarks before you regret them," he warned. "And of course I'm planning to go over there myself." he said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"When?" she asked. Takumi raised a brow.

"What do you mean _when_? I'm going tomorrow," he replied. The blonde shook her head.

"No, I mean like…what time?" she rephrased. He scoffed in disbelief.

"Of course I'm going sometime in the afternoon," he responded. "Did you really think I would _scare_ a couple of teenage girls into coming with me? Even I'm not that fucked up in the head."

Pressing her red lips against the rim of the cup, she laughed. "I wouldn't count on that. You do have quite the temper," she remarked.

"Don't push it, Maria."

-o-

 **One day later**

 _Knock knock!_

Misaki looked up from her book and at the door. She sighed, shoving a slip of torn paper inside the book to mark the page before closing it. _I really hope it isn't those two weirdos…Kuuga and Sakura, if I remember right._

She stood up and made her way to the door, closing one of her eyes and peering out the peephole. It appeared to be a blonde haired man—but not the same one as last time. This person had—as far as she could tell from a peephole—emerald green eyes, while the one she saw yesterday had reddish brown eyes. Not to mention the pretty significant height difference.

Misaki cautiously pushed open the door, causing it to emit a creaking sound. The man took notice of this and gave her a polite smile.

"Um, hi," Misaki greeted. "Can I help you?"

The blonde held out his hand for her to shake, while she just stared at it awkwardly as if she'd never seen someone offer her a handshake before.

Seeing that she wasn't planning to make a move anytime soon, he dropped his hand back down to his side and decided to get to the point.

"We have your father with us," he said, making sure to sound as threatening as possible. In truth, her father _was_ with them, but he was probably just sitting on a couch somewhere sipping tea.

Misaki's eyes narrowed.

"What do you want from me?" she asked, taking a step back. "What do you want from my family?"

"I need you. Well, either you or your sister. It really doesn't matter to me," he replied truthfully. Misaki clenched her jaw.

"Are you really that emotionally unstable?" she questioned.

"What?"

"Are you really going to get so butthurt and overreact because someone picked your dumb little rose? Big deal!" she scoffed, her voice a mocking tone. The blonde glared at her. Never had someone raised their voice at him like that.

"I suppose I've been too nice, haven't I?" he chuckled. "Let me put this bluntly," he started. "Your father _will die_ if you do not follow me." he stated.

Misaki was surprised by his threat, but nonetheless didn't comply with his wishes.

"I'm not following you," she stubbornly said.

"Then I'm taking your sister," he shrugged.

"You are _not_ taking Suzuna!" she exclaimed, stomping her right foot for added effect. Her fists clenched and her arms crossed in front of her chest.

The man let out a yawn—whether it was fake or not she couldn't tell, though that certainly wasn't her concern at the moment.

He slowly turned around lifting his hand to wave at her. "Then your father shall be dead by tonight. Good day—"

"Wait!" she interrupted, reaching out and subconsciously grabbing his arm to prevent him from walking further. Quickly, she released his arm and dropped her hand back to her side.

The man grinned like the Cheshire cat. "Well then, I'd say we have an agreement?" he raised an eyebrow. She stared him dead in the eye, before feeling her throat go dry.

Finally finding the ability to speak again, she replied, "Yes."

-o-

"Nee-chan, what are you doing?!" Suzuna exclaimed, which was quite rare and surprising since the girl never did show emotion through her voice and not often through her facial expression. But now was an exception.

"I'm going to that castle," she replied, zipping up one of her suitcases. "They have Dad."

Suzuna ran over to her and grabbed one of the suitcases, before pulling it up and out of Misaki's reach.

"Stop it," she said. "I'll go. I'll take his spot," Suzuna pleaded desperately. Misaki gave her a gentle smile and shook her head.

"Suzuna," she said. "What kind of big sister would I be if I allowed my little sister to keep herself hostage at a castle?"

"I don't care about appearances right now," Suzuna countered. "Just be selfish for once, please."

Misaki stood and pried the suitcase out of her sister's hands. "I'm sorry," she apologized. "I wrote a note for you and Dad. Read it together when he gets home, 'kay?" she gave Suzuna the biggest smile she could muster up.

"Nee-chan…"

"This is goodbye, Suzu!" she waved, using her nickname in an attempt to lighten the mood. "Love you, take care of yourselves!"

Before either of them knew it, Misaki had left, closing the door behind her with a slam that confirmed the fact that this was reality. She gripped her suitcases tightly in both hands, as she held her head high and made her way to a nearby car.

As expected, the window of the back seat rolled down. She felt her heart drop to her stomach as she saw her father's face—realization was now dawning on her. She wouldn't see her father or Suzuna again for God knows how long.

The door opened, and her father stumbled out of the car. He gave Misaki a sad smile, while she returned it. When he leaned in to give her what might've seemed like a kiss on the cheek, he actually whispered into her ear, "I'll save you, don't worry."

Misaki glanced back at him gratefully—sure she didn't know what he was planning, but she trusted him with her life. With a nod, she climbed into the back seat of the car and slammed the door shut, not being able to bear looking at Sakuya any longer.

The car set off into motion, and that's when Misaki finally wondered who was driving the car.

Curiosity getting the best of her, she asked, "Hello. I'm Misaki Ayuzawa, who are you?"

"I'm Satsuki Hyoudou, and I'm your driver for today!" she exclaimed, turning the front mirror to reveal her face. She seemed like a happy and friendly person. "Hehe, I've always wanted to say that phrase~" she hummed to herself.

Misaki laughed. "It's nice to have a girl my age working at the castle."

Satsuki blinked. "Oh? I thought you were seventeen, dear?" she asked in confusion.

Misaki raised an eyebrow. "Err—I am," she confirmed. Satsuki let out a hearty laugh.

"I'm thirty," she confessed. "You're such a cutie! I like you already!" she giggled. Misaki's eyes widened in surprise. _Thirty? Damn, she looks young!_

"How much longer 'till we arrive at the castle?" Misaki asked, already feeling comfortable with the driver.

"Hmm? Ah, it's about a half hour drive, so get comfortable!" she grinned sheepishly.


	3. Chapter 3

**I posted two chapters within twenty-four hours (i wrote this on the 25th but uploaded it today oops) I know. Praise me. Love me. [jk but you can love me if you want. hmu ;)]**

 **Okay, but in all seriousness, this week is pretty lax so I can probably get like two more chapters of this fic in (chapter 5 is already written lolol ik I'm a rebel skipping chappies like that) woooo~**

 **You know I've been wondering like y'know how double eyelids are found more attractive or whatever? Like how about attached earlobes or unattached earlobes? Innies or outies? Does anyone even have a preference on these like c'mon your ears and belly button just needs a little bit of love**

 **Just ignore that paragraph above omg im crying what did I write. Anyhow, enjoy the chapter!**

 **-o-**

"Satsuki informed me that the girl and her should be here soon," the blonde haired lady said, taking a seat on a chair across from Takumi.

"Good. I was getting impatient," he replied curtly. Maria pressed her lips together.

"Why do you need her, anyway?"

"What do you mean?"

Maria raised an eyebrow. "The girl. Misaki, if I recall correctly," she explained. Takumi made a sound of acknowledgement.

"If that old hag finds out that I lost her rose, who knows what she'll do next?" he sighed. "She'd probably make me a beast twenty-four-seven next time."

Maria laughed. "Be grateful that you're not a chandelier," she joked. Takumi shrugged.

"At least people aren't scared of you."

The blonde woman nodded. "True," she agreed, making no attempt to console him. "Anyway, how does having that girl fix the fact that you lost the rose?" she inquired.

"She's the replacement rose," he answered simply.

"So you're going to hand her over as like a peace offering to that woman?" she scoffed. Takumi shook his head.

"You know those chest pains I've been having?" he asked.

"Mhmm, what about them?"

"It's because the rose got destroyed—I know it is," he said. "Remember what the old lady said? If this were ever to happen, I have to take the offender's 'rose'." he explained.

"Ah, I vaguely remember you telling me this."

"Yeah. Well, I'll just have to keep her around until I figure out how to break this damned curse," he groaned. "Her last words to me were 'follow your heart and maybe one day the spell will be broken'. What kind of hint is that?!" he exclaimed.

"Shh," Maria rolled her eyes. "As your cousin, I'll help you to the best of my ability so just calm down," she soothed.

-o-

After half an hour, as Satsuki had said, they arrived at the castle. She opened Misaki's door for her and grabbed her wrist excitedly, practically dragging her to the castle.

"You're gonna love it here!" Satsuki exclaimed. Misaki wished she could believe that, but according to her father, there was a—she shivered at the thought—beast living here.

Staying silent and just deciding to settle for a polite smile, Misaki allowed Satsuki to pull her down halls and into a room.

Knocking on the door, Satsuki called, "Takumi, you in there?"

The sound of footsteps could be heard, before the door swung open gently. She gasped in surprise as her eyes met the emerald ones she'd seen a day ago. _The guy that threatened me!_ she thought.

"What's with that face?" he scoffed. Only then did Misaki notice her face was scrunched up in distaste. Well, it wasn't her fault that she disliked him, was it?

"Aha, excuse me," she apologized, a fake smile plastered on her face. No need to make bad impressions on her first day here. "Just thinking about something."

"Okay then."

An awkward silence ensued between the two, before Maria walked over to the door to greet Misaki.

"Oh my, is this Misaki?" she asked.

"That'd be me," Misaki answered. Maria gasped.

"You're beautiful!" she squealed. Misaki laughed.

"No way. But you on the other hand are gorgeous," she said truthfully, taking in her slightly wavy blonde hair, her bright eyes that seemed to pop with the black eyeliner and long lashes she sported, along with a bold red lip that just accentuated her beauty.

"She's totally a keeper," Maria gushed. "We're going to get along so well!"

"You're never this happy," Takumi commented. She glared at him.

"I'm happy because there's a new cutie in the castle!" she defended. Turning back to Misaki, she added, "Anyway, let me show you to your room—"

"I'll be taking care of that," the tall blonde interrupted. Maria pouted.

"I wanted to show her around!"

"And? I'm in charge of this castle, I'll be showing her around," he said in a no-nonsense tone. Maria's expression turned slightly more serious—not enough for most people to notice, but with Misaki's observant eye she definitely caught it.

"Alright then."

-o-

"Why are you ignoring me?"

Misaki walked down the hall beside the tall blonde, all while whistling a tune. As if proving his point, she completely ignored his question and kept her eyes forward.

His green eyes darkened. "I asked you a question."

She stopped walking for a moment. Takumi came to a halt as well, hoping that she would finally give him a proper response.

"I don't like you," she said curtly, not bothering to make eye contact with him.

Takumi scoffed. "Keep that kind of attitude up and I'm not showing you to your room," he threatened. She raised an eyebrow.

"So? You are aware that I'm a big girl and I can find my own room, right?" she said, her voice mocking and almost taunting.

"Have fun. Hope you know that half the rooms on this floor are full of snakes and spiders, and I'm pretty sure they're haunted as well," he shrugged nonchalantly, smirking as he saw her face pale at his last few words. "But since you're a _big girl_ and all, you should be able to handle it, right?" _Nobody beats me in my own game._

Misaki wanted to rub that annoying and arrogant smirk off his face—better yet, she wanted to punch it off. But remembering how her father got attacked by wolves around this castle, she didn't want to be kicked out and eaten by those creatures. Misaki shivered. _Speaking of, where's that beast Dad was talking about?_

Grumbling, Misaki sighed in defeat, "Show me to my room."

-o-

"Wow, this room is huge!" Misaki exclaimed, excitedly leaping onto the large bed and bouncing a few times. Her family has always been poor, meaning a house consisting of small rooms, a bathroom, a kitchen, and if they were lucky maybe even a living room.

"Huge? It's pretty average…" Takumi said, but noticing the huge smile on her face decided not to say more. He didn't know why, but he liked seeing her happy. _Maybe because you're human?_ he thought dryly to himself, only to laugh bitterly. _Yeah, right._

"Thank you," she said gratefully, bowing slightly in gratitude. Takumi looked surprised. _I basically kidnapped her, and she's thanking me?_

"You're welcome," he replied. "Oh, and by the way, you have an…uh, roommate."

"Roommate? Where? Who is it?" she inquired curiously.

"Her name's Sakura," he answered. Misaki seemed to ponder upon this for a moment or two, before snapping her fingers in realization.

"Pink hair?" she asked.

"Yes, why?"

"Oh, she came to my house with that boy named Kuuga the first time," she explained. "Anyway, there's only one bed in this room. Do we share?" she asked, a puzzled look on her face.

"Um, she sleeps on the floor." _Why won't you tell her the truth?_ he asked himself. _Well, she wouldn't necessarily believe me if I told her that her roommate was a wardrobe…_

"On a futon?" she continued her questioning.

"No…just the floor."

"Isn't that uncomfortable and cold?!" Misaki exclaimed, not even attempting to hide her shock. Takumi shrugged his shoulders.

"She likes it, so it doesn't really matter," he responded, not really recognizing how peculiar that sounded to normal people. Misaki raised an eyebrow, still looking skeptical, but decided to drop the topic for now.

"Okay…well, um, I'll start unpacking in here then?" she said questioningly as if asking for permission.

"Go right on ahead," Takumi said. "I'll be downstairs. Sakura and Satsuki will be up in a few," he said.

"Mhmm. Have a good night," she replied, sneaking a glance at a clock on the wall that read 8:30PM.

-o-

"Omigosh, I absolutely love your hair!" Sakura squealed, running her fingers through Misaki's raven locks "So soft."

"Ah, I'm so happy that we have you here! You're like a ray of sunshine in this dark castle of ours," Satsuki smiled. Misaki grinned back.

"I'm honored, but your personality seems far brighter than mine," Misaki replied.

Satsuki gasped. "You're so sweet! As Maria said, you're definitely a keeper," she giggled. Misaki laughed.

"Why am I here, anyway?"

"Oh," Sakura piped in. "You're his 'replacement rose'," she said, throwing Satsuki a glance. They both smirked.

Misaki jumped off the bed. "What's with the looks?"

"Nothing," they both replied simultaneously.

"Except for the fact that you and Takumi would be a cute couple," Sakura added.

"Sakura!" Satsuki exclaimed, tackling the younger girl. "We're playing around. We do this to everyone," she explained when noticing Misaki scrunching her nose.

"Not true," Sakura said. "Ugh. I absolutely do _not_ think that _Umekoji_ and Takumi would be a cute couple."

"Who's Umekoji?" Misaki asked. Satsuki tried to answer, but Sakura interrupted her with a loud groan.

"Only the most stuck-up and rude woman ever!" she replied.

"Sakura, don't say that," Satsuki gently scolded. Turning back to Misaki, she added, "But yeah, what Sakura said was true."

"Is she really that bad?" Misaki inquired, sitting back down onto the bed and grabbing a fluffy white pillow, before hugging it tightly.

Sakura's expression turned sour. "No doubt about it. She's horrible."

Satsuki sighed. "Well, while I'm usually trying to be friendly to everyone, I shouldn't say this, but since you asked…she's really rude to everyone in this household."

"Except Takumi," Sakura added.

Satsuki nodded in agreement. "Yes, except Takumi. My god, that girl clings to him like a five-year-old hanging onto her mother while in a crowded mall," she frowned.

Misaki thought about this for a moment. "So, she's a clingy girlfriend?"

Satsuki and Sakura glanced at each other before bursting out into a fit of giggles.

"Omigosh, hardly!"

Misaki looked confused at Sakura's words.

"He doesn't pay her a second glance. She always cakes tons of makeup onto her face in an attempt to 'snag her prince's attention', though her efforts never really do pay off," Satsuki explained. Misaki laughed at that.

"I never was a fan of girls like that," she remarked. Sakura nodded eagerly.

"Same! Like, I get doing stuff to impress guys, but take it down a notch girl!" she grinned. Misaki shrugged her shoulders.

"I guess I'm kinda used to it. All the girls at my high school are like that," she said, already okay with telling them a bit about her. She didn't know why, but she felt safe and comfortable with these two. _It almost feels like those talks Mom, Suzuna and I used to have in my bedroom at night. Lighthearted and fun._ "I could only imagine if someone like Takumi went to Seika. Girls even from other high schools—and possibly even guys would be flocking him like birds around a pile of…bread crusts!"

Sakura and Satsuki laughed. "What a beautiful simile," Sakura joked.

"Misaki's going to write a bestseller one day," Satsuki followed up. Misaki stuck her tongue out at them childishly.

"Oh, be quiet."

-o-

"Where's Misaki?" Takumi asked. Sakura put a finger to her lips to shush him as Satsuki gently closed her bedroom door.

"Already on a first name basis? Cute!" Satsuki squealed.

"I don't even know her last name," Takumi pointed out.

"Hush. You're ruining our fun," Sakura pouted. "Anyway, Misaki's asleep, so don't wake her," she instructed. Satsuki nodded.

"This is my castle. If I want her to wake up, she will follow my orders and—"

"Can you give that ego of yours a rest?" Sakura requested. "Really, you're never going to get the girl if you continue on like this."

"Who said I wanted to 'get the girl'? She's just a replacement rose."

"Mhmm. Keep lying to yourself and see where that gets you," Satsuki teased.

"Hey you—" Takumi started, only to get cut off by Sakura's nonsensical blabbering.

"So, what are we having for brunch?" she changed the topic. Satsuki played along.

"Ah, we should probably tell her that we skip breakfast and eat brunch which is at noon," she said.

"She's a smart girl, she can figure it out on her own. Let her sleep," Sakura replied. Satsuki nodded, only to laugh nervously as she realized that she left out an important piece of their conversation.

"Funny story…I didn't tell her about our transformations quite yet…" she grinned sheepishly.

"Really? Me neither," Sakura said. "But Takumi should've taken care of that, right?" she asked, glancing at the blonde expectantly. To her dismay, he stood there, eyebrows furrowed as he stayed silent.

"..."

Sakura and Satsuki sighed simultaneously. The purple haired lady then decided to voice everyone's thoughts. "Oh boy. She's going to have the surprise of her life tomorrow."


	4. Chapter 4

**Of course after I'm like "yeah this week is lax" it becomes hectic. Life just has to turn me into a liar :'(**

 **Just a quick side note to tatzecom nah m8 that didn't sound creepy af so don't worry~ btw im still so honored that you made a dlc for Secluded Lovers :'''') I'll update SL soon i pinky promise**

 **And yo is it just me or do I not have many peeps enjoying this story RIP~ Y'know what though it's all good because I really enjoy writing this story atm so for you few peepsies reading i gotchu some updates~**

 **Chapter 4 y'all**

 **-o-**

Misaki let out a loud yawn, stretching her arms and legs, successfully dragging the fluffy blanket downwards with her feet.

She popped open one of her eyes, glancing at the clock to see that it was 7:32AM. Misaki lay there still and quietly, noting that there weren't any noises coming from outside. She figured they probably weren't awake—well, she normally wouldn't be either, but due to her school starting early she was actually supposed to be up by 6:30.

 _Speaking of school, wouldn't anyone notice I was gone? I mean, I didn't play a huge role there, but maybe a teacher or two noticed?_ she thought. _Ah, that Takumi guy probably found out a way to take me out of the school. Probably told them I was transferring or something._

Not being able to go back to sleep with all these thoughts racing through her head, Misaki lazily climbed out of the warm and comfortable sheets and stood on her two legs. A bit lightheaded from the sudden shift of positions, she stumbled over to the side as her arm hit the expensive-looking white wardrobe with a pink trim.

"Ah!"

Misaki jolted away from the wardrobe as she heard a squeal come from somewhere beside her. She definitely wasn't the one who did that, so who was it?

"...Who's there?" Misaki asked hesitantly, not even sure herself if she wanted to know at this point.

The wardrobe's doors flung open, scaring the crap out of Misaki. "It's me!" It exclaimed. Only then did Misaki notice there was a mirror inside the wardrobe, with _Sakura inside of it._

Officially signing out of her life as of now, Misaki threw open her bedroom door and made a run for it. She let out an ear-piercing shriek as she thudded down the halls and practically hopped down each staircase.

"Satsuki! Maria! ANYONE, HELP!"

"Oh dear, who's yelling?" a voice asked, which she recognized as Maria's.

"Isn't that Misaki?" asked another feminine voice that she couldn't recognize this time.

"Yes, it's me! Maria, where are you?!" she exclaimed frantically.

"Why, I'm right up here, dearest!"

Misaki glanced up at the ceiling cautiously, not quite sure what to expect anymore after that previous experience.

"W…Where are you?"

"Look at the chandelier."

Misaki bit her tongue to suppress a scream. Up in the chandelier were small flames, and one especially large flame with a mirror image of Maria shown in it.

"I'm hallucinating," Misaki murmured. She pinched one of her cheeks, and seeing that the image of Maria hadn't gone away, she slapped herself.

"Hey, you'll hurt yourself!" Maria exclaimed, trying to reach out and stop Misaki—only to remember that she couldn't.

 _Thud!_

"Oh dear," she gasped, watching as the raven haired girl fell to the floor unconscious. The poor girl had fainted. _That's right—Satsuki and Sakura didn't warn her beforehand._

"Oh dear is right," the featherduster agreed, hopping off the dining table and onto the marble floor. She wandered over to Misaki's unconscious body and jumped on her face, moving her soft, fluffy feathers across her cheeks.

Unfortunately, even this didn't awake the unconscious Misaki. Maria and the featherduster sighed.

"What should we do, Erika?" Maria asked.

The featherduster, Erika, let out an exasperated sigh.

"Looks like we're going to have to tell Takumi," she answered. Maria frowned.

"Do we have to?"

"Do we have a choice?" Erika countered. It was true, neither of the two could exactly take care of or handle her in their states. Maria being stuck to the ceiling wasn't exactly ideal, and Erika was far too small to carry her—not to mention she didn't even have any limbs.

"I guess not."

-o-

" _Misaki," the raven haired lady slurred, dropping her keys on a nearby counter. Misaki set down the plate she was washing, turned off the sink, and wandered to front door._

 _Misaki was only nine years old at the time—yet very responsible and mature for her age._

" _Mother," she sighed, clearly disappointed and maybe even a little let down about something. "You were out drinking again." It wasn't a question, it was a statement._

" _Nooo," her mom denied. "No drinkity drinky." Obviously this was a lie, because first off where else would she be out so late, and second, what kind of grown adult says "drinkity drinky"?_

" _Suzuna and Dad are asleep now," Misaki informed her, tired of seeing her in this same state every single night. Her mom let out a gasp._

" _I kne~eew he was cheating on me," she sang as if it were something to be happy about. Misaki pressed her lips together._

" _Suzuna is your daughter," she said, but decided to give up since it was impossible to reason with a drunk Minako Ayuzawa._

 _Completely disregarding what Misaki said, she continued to speak. "It's a-okay though because I'm cheating too!" she giggled, before walking to a couch and collapsing on it._

 _Misaki tore her eyes away from her mom's disheveled appearance. Messy raven hair identical to hers, cloudy amber eyes, her shirt buttoned sloppily and crooked._

 _Trying to force every negative thought out of her head, Misaki retreated back to the kitchen to finish washing the dishes._

-o-

Misaki's eyes popped open, her breathing heavier than usual from the dream—well, no, _flashback_ she had.

"You're awake."

She stiffened at the unfamiliar gruff voice, but managed to reply with a measly, "Yeah."

The owner of the voice walked into her sight, and Misaki swore her eyes were now playing tricks on her. _A beast?!_

Misaki slumped back onto the bed, her head hitting the fluffy white pillow roughly. "Can you send someone in to knock me out again?" she requested. Misaki herself wasn't even too sure if she was serious or not.

He scoffed. "Enough of that nonsense. You've already seen a talking chandelier, wardrobe, and a featherduster. Are you really that shocked?" he inquired.

Intentionally avoiding his question, Misaki instead asked, "What featherduster? I only saw the other two."

He mentally noted that she didn't answer his original question, but didn't mention it. "Ah, I guess you didn't meet her then. I'll introduce you and Erika later," he offered.

"Sounds good," she replied with a nod.

"Yeah."

There was an awkward silence for a good period of time. It was exactly one minute and twenty-three seconds—Misaki knew because she was counting.

"So," she started in an attempt to get a conversation going. "Why aren't you an object like everyone else? And actually, while we're on this topic, who are you?"

His emerald green eyes blazed with some kind of emotion she couldn't exactly pinpoint as he gave her a sharp look.

"I'm not obligated to answer you, I do hope you know that," he informed her. "And you can call me Takumi. Now that I know you're fine, I'll be on my way," he said bluntly, holding true to his words and marching straight out her bedroom door before closing it with a slam. _Takumi…oh, that one blonde haired guy with the green eyes I saw yesterday?_

Flinching slightly at the loud noise, she pulled the large, clean white covers up to her chin. _Misaki, you're dreaming. Either that or you're completely delusional,_ she kept telling herself.

She glanced up at the clock. 10:26AM. She still had the whole day ahead of her. But one question kept bothering Misaki. _Why were they normal human beings yesterday, but not today?_ Also, the fact that Takumi had such a horrible temper made Misaki want to totally go off on him, but she had to remind herself not to for her own safety.

Deciding to get up and out of bed, Misaki mentally prepared herself for anything to come. After all, she'd already witnessed a lot this morning—who knows what's next?

-o-

"Uh, hey," Misaki greeted awkwardly as she went downstairs.

"Oh, are you okay?!" Maria asked worriedly.

"Yeah, you just passed out!" A featherduster piped in. _Aha, so this is the Erika he was talking about._

"Ahaha…I just wasn't expecting _that,_ " she laughed nervously. Maria and Erika made sounds of agreements.

"Hey, no worries," Erika said. "No harm done."

"Thanks," Misaki said. She wasn't exactly sure what it was for—maybe for their understanding? The free home? The fact that they were totally unlike that rude beast named Takumi or whatever? Well, whatever the reasoning, she was grateful for one thing or another.

"Don't thank us for anything," Maria said, confusing Misaki. "We're basically trapping you here for our own selfish reasons, after all. You have no reason to feel gratitude towards us."

Misaki blinked. "But—"

"No buts," she insisted. Misaki glanced up at the chandelier and could see Maria smiling. "Now, let's introduce you to all the staff here!"

-o-

Misaki shifted in the cushioned red chair. The lights in the large room were dimmed—thanks to Maria, of course, who controlled the lights—and there was currently a fortress of tables set up to look like a stage.

"Ladies and gentlemen," came Maria's voice. Curiously, Misaki glanced up at the chandelier.

A sharp whisper could be distinctly heard from below. "Our only audience member is a lady!" she pointed out. Maria giggled.

"Why, how right you are," she said. "Let's start with you first. Misaki, this is Erika. She's a featherduster for half the day," Maria introduced. Misaki watched as Erika twirled around the stage built of tables and winked at her. Her feathery bristles were a reddish hue, which Misaki assumed might be the color of her hair in her other form. Unlike Maria and Sakura who had mirror images of themselves reflected somewhere, she was simply a duster…with a face.

"Now now, let's not get too flirty with the new girl, Erika."

Erika laughed. "You know I don't swing that way," she shrugged—well, tried to. She didn't really have shoulders and all. Erika hopped off the "stage" and stood to the side.

Misaki decided that she liked Erika. Sure she had sass, but also a great humor and a caring girl. _I wonder what she looks like as a human?_ Misaki wondered.

"Alright—next up, Satsuki! She's a teapot," Maria announced. Misaki smiled as she recognized her name. _Satsuki was the purple haired one, if I remember correctly._

Somehow, Misaki felt strangely safe in this peculiar place. Sure, she was surrounded by talking objects, and this castle was nothing like home, but everyone was so welcoming and kind that she couldn't help but almost _enjoy_ it.

A white teapot with a dark purple top hopped onto the stage. Her all too familiar round eyes and happy-go-lucky attitude confirmed her suspicions that it was indeed the purple haired woman she'd talked with yesterday.

"MISAKI AND TAKUMI~!" she sang, before leaping off the stage and joining Erika on the side. Misaki's face flushed a dark red color.

"W-What?!" she exclaimed. "I don't even know him that well!" she defended. Satsuki giggled.

"Don't worry, you'll get to know him plenty!" she "reassured" the girl, although it simply made Misaki feel less so.

"Well, what if I don't want to?" she asked, crossing one leg over the other.

She grinned. "Then, you're just going to have to deal with it, now won't you?" Satsuki shrugged.

"Ahem," Maria interrupted. Misaki jumped in surprise, obviously startled by the sudden noise. she made eye contact with Maria and grinned sheepishly, while the chandelier gave her a wink that told her it was no big deal. "Next is Sakura, also known as Misaki's personal wardrobe!"

Misaki gasped as she saw the large white wardrobe with a pink trim walk up onto the table stage. Of course, she'd already known it was Sakura from the moment she saw her face in the mirror, but Misaki still felt guilty for running off like that.

"I'm so sorry about this morning, Sakura," Misaki quickly apologized. Sakura flung open her doors and gave her a thumbs up from the mirror.

"Don't worry about it, Misaki! Trust me, I'd be equally as frightened if I woke up one morning and I found household items talking to me!" she laughed. Misaki smiled. She was glad everyone here was so understanding.

Sakura waddled off the stage—it was quite the challenge to get around as a wardrobe—while Maria announced a name that sounded like "Kuuga".

 _Clack!_

Up on the stage stood a clock. But it was strange—unlike the others, who were basically replicas of the actual objects, this clock had arms, legs, and a body. He looked almost like a teeny tiny grandfather clock.

"Also known as Sakura's crush," Erika informed Misaki. She yelped upon hearing Erika's voice directly in her ear—she hadn't even noticed her sneaking behind her.

Calming down her pounding heart, Misaki asked, "Wow, really? A clock and a wardrobe, that's—" she then interrupted herself. "Hold up. Kuuga has blonde spiky-ish hair and some brownish reddish eyes right?"

Erika nodded. "Yes ma'am."

"He visited me at my house with Sakura, then!" she exclaimed in realization. The featherduster thought for a minute.

"Yeah, that was him. I remember Takumi sending them," she confirmed. Misaki grinned as she remembered Sakura clinging to Kuuga's arm. Those two really did suit each other.

"My, what an attractive young lady."

Misaki looked at the stage, only to realize the man up there was talking to her. She was just about to yell at Kuuga for cheating on Sakura, only to see that the person—well, object—on stage was a completely different one. She'd been too caught up in her conversation with Erika and hadn't noticed.

Misaki blinked as she stared at a candle. He had three flames—two as hands, one as a head. She noticed that the flames were a lime green, which she assumed was a trait of his. Either his eyes or hair, since that seemed to be a common trend amongst the objects.

"Um, thank you," she replied awkwardly. Only then did she realize how much time she'd spent analyzing his appearance—it must've come off as creepy staring or something.

"May I get your name?" he inquired. Her eyes narrowed. _Found the player of the castle,_ Misaki humored herself.

"You know my name," she stated. Of course he did—she was the talk of the castle for the past day or so.

He chuckled. "Feisty. I like it." Misaki glared at him.

"Don't get your hopes up," she warned. He simply chose to ignore her statement and introduce himself instead.

"The name's Tora. Tora Igarashi."

She smirked. "Igarashi it is."

"Bloodshed outside please. We just had these floors cleaned," someone called. Misaki cracked a smile at that.

"Okay, uh, next up!" Maria announced. Tora walked off the stage. "Hinata!"

"I'M STUCK TO THE WALL!"

Maria laughed. "Ah, yes, how could I have forgotten?" she said. "Misaki, don't forget to introduce yourself to Hinata in the kitchen later. He's a the stove and oven," she informed Misaki.

"Got it," she said.

Playfully, Maria said, "Hmm…let's see, I think that's everybody!"

As if on cue, someone squealed "NO! You didn't introduce Ruri!"

Maria laughed. "Of course! I'd never forget you, Ruri," she said. Up on stage Misaki saw a small teacup hop up.

"Hi! I'm Ruri Yukimura, I hope we can get along!" she introduced. The teacup was white with a green trim around the top and handle.

Misaki smiled at her. Judging by her attitude, she seemed like a young girl. She also observed that Ruri spoke in third person occasionally.

"That's not everyone," Maria spoke. "But most of the others aren't here at the moment. For a quick summary, we have Subaru, Honoka, Shoichiro—Ruri's older brother, Kanou, Shizuko, and Chiyo as well."

"Wow," Misaki gasped. "That's a lot of people."

"You bet. This place is always lively!" she whistled.

 _Ding! Ding!_

"Oh my fucking god," Misaki squeaked, falling onto the floor as she watched the strangest thing she's ever seen in her life _by far._ And that's saying a lot.

Everyone in the room was engulfed in sparkles, and within a matter of seconds, everyone in the room was a human. _What?!_

Maria laughed. "You can close your mouth now," she teased. Only then did Misaki notice that her jaw was hanging open wide. To say she was shocked was an understatement. She couldn't even describe what she was feeling. Frightened? Not really. Disappointed? Nope. Shocked? Well, yes, most obviously _yes_ , but not quite the correct word.

"H-How—"

"Misaki," Sakura spoke, bouncing over with her pink pigtails and blue nightdress. She noticed they wore what they'd worn the previous night.

"Y…Yes…?"

"I forgot to tell you this, but, uh, everyday at noon we transform into humans, and we stay like this until midnight."

Kuuga stood beside her. "Yeah. Noon to midnight, we're humans, midnight to noon we're objects. If that makes any sense. Basically half a day for each form."

Misaki was finding it hard to take in all this information. She nodded as she stared at his face blankly.

"Actually, strangely enough you're handling this really well," Sakura confessed.

"For sure," Satsuki piped in. "Even after seeing Takumi in his beast form you didn't leave us."

"Leave? Why would I do that?"

"Because you're frightened?" Satsuki offered. Misaki shook her head.

"No…this experience is actually really exhilarating," she admitted. All four people present at the moment were surprised.

"Exhilarating?" Sakura asked in disbelief. Kuuga laughed.

"That's a first," he said. Maria nodded.

"Definitely a keeper."

 **-o-**

 **Hey guys I have a question~ WHAT DO YOU THINK MISAKI'S MOM (Minako)'S PERSONALITY IS LIKE? Like I know she's dead but ill be including flashbacks so don't pull out your knives on me if I confuse you at first kay?**


	5. Chapter 5

**By the way, as a reply to Cherry Licorice Blossom's review, I am aware that Maid Sama is a manga, I have read it, hence why I am writing fanfics. See, this is an AU fic, meaning it's in an "alternate universe" or basically I use the characters of the manga as well as their personalities (somewhat I mean they're a little OOC) but the plot doesn't have to relate to the manga's whatsoever. Minako's mom didn't die in the manga—and also Takumi doesn't turn into a beast in the manga, nor does Misaki move out into a castle.**

 **I just reread that and I feel like I sounded so rude I'm sorry. I'm bad at phrasing things (lol why am i an author then) and sometimes come off as blunt~**

 **Anyhoo, this chapter's for all y'all who wanted some takumisa already :')**

 **WARNING: Hella cliche chapter so yeah loool~**

 **-o-**

 _CSSSH!_

The booming sound of thunder mixed with the not-so-gentle pitter patter of the rain against her window made Misaki jump. She pulled the fluffy covers over her head and pressed the edges down with her hands and feet, leaving none of her body exposed.

Unfortunately for Misaki, Sakura was sleeping with Ruri in her room tonight, since the small girl was just as afraid of thunder as her. Let's just say Misaki has had a horrible experience with storms. But, of course, she insisted that she didn't mind storms one bit. _What a lie that was,_ she sighed inwardly. She simply didn't want to worry anyone.

It was around half past eleven at night right now, meaning it would strike midnight soon and everyone would turn into their more unusual forms.

 _Hmm. I wonder what it feels like to transform while you're asleep,_ Misaki wondered. _Actually, I'm quite curious as to how it feels to transform PERIOD, asleep or not._

 _BOOM!_

As another loud sound echoed in the distance, Misaki let out a barely audible squeak. _Deep breaths, Misaki. Deep breaths—_

 _Knock knock!_

Misaki jolted up upon hearing a knock on her door. Already terrified by the commotion outside, millions of thoughts ran through her head. _Is it a serial killer?_ Misaki stiffened and reached her hand out to a small desk. She wasn't going down without a fight. Grabbing a flowerpot off the top of it, she threw the blanket around her shoulders and cautiously made her way to the door.

"Open the door," a voice commanded. Misaki's eyes widened as she realized she knew that voice. It was the beast guy—Takumi, or something like that.

Just as she was about to quickly set down the pot and fix up her appearance a bit, the door opened.

"Where are yo—" he froze upon seeing her right in front of him, a blanket draped over her and a flowerpot in hand. Misaki laughed nervously.

"This—see, um, this is…" she tried to make up an excuse without looking either retarded or crazy, which was pretty hard considering the situation she was in. Instead, Misaki ended up settling for a sheepish grin.

Takumi sighed. "Nevermind that," he said. "I was wondering if you had an extra blanket for Licht, and also maybe a—"

 _CRASH!_

Misaki let out a yelp as she instinctively crouched to the floor and hid herself beneath the blanket. She inwardly cursed herself for being so vulnerable in front of this man she'd barely known, although she just couldn't hide her fear.

She tensed as she felt a warm hand come in contact with her blanketed back. Misaki obviously knew it was Takumi—yet somehow, she didn't hit him, kick him, struggle, nothing. She simply lay there, blanket still hiding her away, still scared though now slightly less.

"You're afraid of thunder?" he asked incredulously. Misaki wanted to snap back at him something along the lines of, "nah, I _love_ thunder," but for her own sake didn't respond that way.

"Y-Yeah," she responded, slowly lifting the blanket away from her face. She wanted to hit herself for stuttering. Why did she even stutter? Was she that scared of thunder? Was she scared of him? _Or do you secretly find him super duper attractive and—_

This time, instead of _wanting_ to hit herself, Misaki sat up and slapped herself across the face for thinking such things. _He is not attractive!_ she told herself, though a nagging voice in the back of her head begged to differ.

Misaki gasped in surprise as she felt herself being lifted off the cold floor and set down onto her soft bed. She assumed it was Takumi who did it—well, he was the only one besides her in this room anyway, but thinking back to all the strange things Misaki had witnessed in this household within a course of two days, she couldn't exactly be sure of anything anymore.

"Thanks," she said. "And, um, the blankets are in that closet up on the top shelf I believe."

"I don't need them anymore."

Misaki blinked. "What?" she inquired, not caring if she sounded nosy or rude. "But didn't you just come in here saying—"

"I know what I said. My memory isn't that of a goldfish," he cut her off. Misaki glared at him, but due to the darkness in the room he couldn't see the dirty looks she was throwing him.

"Okay. If you don't want the blankets, then I suppose you'll be on your jolly ol' way," Misaki said nonchalantly. She tucked herself in back under the covers securely.

To her surprise, a sudden weight was added to the side of her bed opposite to her, startling her and causing her to jump.

"What are you doing?!" she demanded, not even bothering to turn around and see for herself.

"What do you think I'm doing?" he asked. Before she could reply, he said, "I'm going to sleep here tonight."

Misaki rolled off the bed promptly, the sheets being dragged down with her as they spread out over and around her.

"Y-You are _not_ sleeping on the same b-bed as me!" Misaki exclaimed.

 _Ding! Ding!_

Misaki shrieked at the sudden noise of the clock downstairs. Feeling embarrassed for being frightened over such a small thing, she cleared her throat and slowly crawled back onto the bed.

"Anyway, as I was saying—" Misaki froze.

In front of her was the same beast she'd seen the other day. Because of the lighting in the room, which was very dark, she could hardly see him, but it was pretty easy to tell the species of the person sitting in front of you.

 _BOOM!_

Misaki tuned out the sound of the thunder, and was only focused on one thing. For the split second that the sky was lit up with the bright flash, she could see him clearly. She'd never actually gotten a close look at him before, but this time she did. He had a blonde coat though it was significantly darker—almost a brown, but not quite. More of a very dirty blonde.

Unlike his fur, his emerald green eyes didn't turn a hue darker nor lighter one bit. They were exactly the same—not that it was a bad thing, because it was actually quite the opposite. His eyes were absolutely _stunning._

"I-It's midnight, huh?" she asked awkwardly. Well, what were you supposed to say in these kinds of situations?

"No kidding."

Misaki couldn't see his expression, and his voice showed no emotions whatsoever so she couldn't exactly tell what he was feeling at the moment. She just hoped she hadn't made everything completely awkward.

 _CRASH!_

Fate being on Misaki's side, she jumped forward and landed on _Takumi's chest._ Her arms were securely wrapped around his torso, and her face was buried in his soft shirt. She found it strange how his clothes still fit perfectly even in this form, but didn't question it.

"Uh, sorry!" Misaki quickly said, attempting to get away from him, only to feel her arm being grasped. She stiffened and wondered if maybe he was mad at her. Did she do something wrong? Perhaps he despised physical contact?

"Just stay like this if it makes you feel better," he said, and she could tell he was forcing a hint of annoyance into his tone. This almost made her want to laugh.

"It's fine. I don't want you to be uncomfortable or anything—"

"Don't worry about me," he interrupted her. "I know that if I leave you're just going to stay up all night, being afraid every two minutes," he reasoned. Misaki opened her mouth to retort, only to realize he was completely, one-hundred percent correct.

"This could be easily misinterpreted, you know," she instead said. "Perverted outer-space alien."

"Oh?" he sounded amused. "That's quite the nickname you've invented there. Except I'm not an alien—I'm a beast," he said. Misaki smiled.

"Yeah, but you don't act like one," she answered. He raised an eyebrow.

"How so?"

"Like, you're not scary and mean. That's how I imagine a beast to be," she explained. "You're actually quite nice."

"Well, thank you then. But how does that make me an alien?" he inquired.

"You're weird and hard to figure out, just like an alien," she laughed. He couldn't help but crack a smile at that.

"Lovely," he said sarcastically. Misaki yawned and began to feel her eyelids grow heavy for the first time tonight. Noticing this, Takumi stayed especially still and silent.

Within a minute or two, he could hear her lightly snoring. She'd fallen asleep. Carefully, he moved her and laid her head down onto a pillow. He pulled the blanket up to her shoulders, before quietly sneaking out of the room.

Right outside the door, Sakura stood there in all her holy wardrobe-self. She opened her doors to show her reflection—and of course, Sakura was grinning. She waggled her eyebrows at him as if suggesting something happened between Misaki and him.

Takumi simply scoffed and sauntered past her and down the stairs. Sakura snickered. _That man and his pride, I swear._

She creeped into the room, settled herself beside Misaki's bed, and before long drifted to sleep as well.


	6. Chapter 6

" _Misaki, where have you been?" the raven haired woman asked, placing her hand on the kitchen counter sternly._

" _Why do you care?" the nine-year-old Misaki asked. "You never cared about me back then, so why now?"_

" _Misaki, don't be difficult with me—"_

" _This is none of your business. Leave me alone," she hissed, attempting to walk smoothly past her. Her mother, Minako Ayuzawa, grabbed her arm, preventing her from walking further._

" _You don't need to help." she said. Misaki gritted her teeth. Her mom found out about her part-time job._

" _Yes I do."_

" _No, you don—"_

" _I DO! I'm not going to let Dad take care of everything on his own!" Misaki exclaimed. "If you're not going to help, I have to at least! Where do you think all your alcohol money is coming from? Money doesn't grow on trees you know!"_

 _Minako froze from her sudden outburst._

" _I'm leaving. I can't stand this place." she snapped, shaking her mother's hand off her arm. She ran to the front door and left the house, closing the door with a loud slam._

"Mom…I'm sorry…" Misaki mumbled, a tear escaping her eye.

"Misaki! Misaki, wake up!" Sakura exclaimed, tapping her on the shoulder. Misaki snapped her eyes open, and only at that point did it become evident that she had been crying. Sakura gasped. "Omigosh, are you okay?!" she cried.

"Y-Yeah," Misaki sniffed. "I'm fine." she said. Sakura wasn't convinced.

"I'm worried about you Misaki," she said gently. "And to top it all off, I'm even more worried about how Takumi is going to react…" she shuddered. Misaki looked confused.

"React? React about what?" she asked. Sakura laughed nervously.

"We're late for breakfast—err, brunch. Well, he wouldn't care if I was, but you…"

Misaki blinked once. Twice. Only now did she realize that Sakura was a human, meaning that…

"IT'S AFTER NOON ALREADY?!" she screamed. The pink haired girl nodded in affirmation. Since they all transformed into humans at noon, breakfast started at noon as well—since objects couldn't eat and all.

"I'm so sorry Misaki! I slept in! I didn't hear the alarm go off, I'm so, so sorry!" Sakura apologized, clasping her hands together and kneeling beside her bed. Misaki waved her off.

"It's not your fault. I should've heard the alarm!" _Damn it, damn it, damn it! Just when I thought that maybe we could get along! Shit!_

Suddenly, Misaki's stomach let out the most embarrassing and horrifying noise. It was only expected, after all, she'd skipped dinner yesterday…

"Well…it's never too late to go down, right?" Sakura offered.

-o-

"Good morning!" Sakura cheered, waving at everyone. They were all already seated at the dining table.

"Morning," Misaki greeted, hoping that they didn't notice they were late.

"I believe you mean good _afternoon_."

Everyone was silent. It was unmistakably Takumi who said that. _So he is mad_.

Misaki sat down at the table across from Takumi, and in-between Satsuki and Ruri. She awkwardly stole a glance at Takumi, and needless to say, it didn't take a genius to figure out he was mad.

Misaki cleared her throat and faced Satsuki.

"Got any plans for today?" she asked in an attempt to make small talk. She watched as Satsuki threw a dirty glare Takumi's way and practically forced herself to turn away from Misaki. Utterly confused, she turned to Ruri.

"What's going on?" she whispered to the little girl. Ruri's orange eyes watered as she gave Takumi a pleading look.

"Taku—"

"Be quiet." he commanded sternly. Her pouted lip quivered as she gazed at her brother, Yukimura, for assistance. He patted her head comfortingly but didn't speak either.

Misaki glared at Takumi. "Why is everyone ignoring me?" she demanded. He shrugged nonchalantly, stuffing his mouth with the omelette rice almost as if only for an excuse to not talk to her.

Misaki stood up abruptly, successfully capturing everyone's attention. "Fine then. If you want to pretend like I don't exist, then I'll just leave."

And with that, Misaki bit back any extra rude remarks and purposely dragged her chair out more instead of pushing it in. She walked away, flipping her hair over her shoulder indignantly as she did so, her feet not all too gentle against the marble flooring. Takumi took notice of this—hell, everyone did, which was why Kuuga and Tora were trying so hard to hold back their laughter at her acts of disrespect. This girl seriously had to hold a record for pissing off Takumi the most within a week's time.

"Misaki, wait!" Sakura called, jumping up and running after her. Obviously, Takumi couldn't scold her for taking to Misaki, since she was late to breakfast as well and hadn't heard his previous instructions.

"Takumi, you're really a jerk sometimes," Erika hissed, her eyes narrowing at him. He furrowed his brows.

"She was late."

"That doesn't give you a reason to completely hurt her feelings like that!" Maria said. "Gosh, hurry up and apologize!" she commanded. Takumi stubbornly set his spoon down and stood up.

"I'm going back to my room. Lost my appetite." he said curtly, pushing in his chair and turning to leave. As he walked away, he overheard Ruri talking to the others.

"I bet he made Misa-nee-chan cry!" she huffed. Takumi couldn't help but feel a pang of hurt in his chest as he imagined Misaki crying because of him. _I really did go too far, didn't I?_

The blonde prince glanced back at the table, making sure nobody saw him as he took a quick detour.

-o-

"Misaki," he called. No sounds were heard. He tried knocking on her room door. Still no sounds. _What if something happened to her?_ he thought. _I wouldn't care. I shouldn't care. I just need her because she's the replacement rose…right?_

He gripped the doorknob of her room door and twisted it slightly to find that it was unlocked. Well, he did _tell_ her to keep it unlocked at all times in case of emergency, though knowing her personality he wasn't really expecting her to actually follow his rules.

Slowly pushing the door open, he instantly freaked out a little on the inside when she wasn't anywhere to be found. She wasn't on her bed, at her desk, or on the floor anywhere visible. As far as he could tell, the bathroom door was open and the lights were off so she couldn't be in there.

He barged into the room for a better look. As soon as he spotted her in the corner of the room—asleep on Sakura's shoulder—he let out a breath he didn't even know he was holding. Sakura was, of course, sitting right beside her. She gave him a smirk, as if she had just walked in on something she shouldn't have.

She mouthed " _Come here,"_ and so Takumi took a few steps forward over to where they both sat. Sakura gently lifted Misaki's head off her shoulder and scooted over slightly, gesturing for Takumi to sit down.

"What? But I don't—"

"Shh," she quickly shushed him, pressing her index finger to her lips. "Sit." She whispered. Takumi grumbled something under his breath before complying. To his surprise, Sakura then let go of Misaki's head and allowed her to rest on Takumi's shoulder now.

"Have fun!" she whispered softly, taking great care in not waking the girl. She wouldn't want to ruin such a perfect moment and opportunity.

Takumi sighed as the pink haired girl ran out of the room and closed the door gently. He then turned his attention towards the girl leaning on his shoulder. This was the second time already he was so close to her.

Observing her face closely, he couldn't help but frown. She'd obviously been crying, for her cheeks were still tear-stained. Maybe Ruri was right—he did make her cry. For some reason, just the mere thought of him causing her pain made him angry. Angry at himself.

Feeling suddenly exhausted, Takumi allowed his head to lean against hers. He heard Misaki make a small sound in her sleep, but she didn't wake up luckily.

His eyelids felt heavy, and so he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

-o-

When Misaki woke up, the first thing she noticed was the pain in her neck, and the pressure on her head. She opened her eyes groggily, trying to recall what had happened before she'd fallen asleep.

 _Let's see…I fell asleep on Sakura's shoulder, and then I had a dream—no…nightmare about Mom._

She suddenly noticed a blonde lock of hair falling into her face. _Probably from Sakur—hold up, Sakura doesn't have blonde hair._

Misaki gently lifted the person's head up as she sat up and stretched her legs outward. She gasped in shock and placed both her hands over her mouth when she realized who it was beside her. _Takumi._

Unfortunately, since Misaki let go of his head, he woke up from the sudden disappearance of his "pillow".

"Misaki?" he asked. She blinked twice, unsure of what to do. Hadn't he been mad at her not too long ago?

"Um yeah, it's me," she said. Glancing up at a clock on the wall, she saw that it was 2pm as of now, so they couldn't have been asleep for more than an hour and a half, max.

"Good morning," he said. She felt her heart flutter ever so strangely as he said those words to her. _Gosh Misaki, stop getting so worked up! It was a simple greeting!_

"I believe you mean good _afternoon,_ " she mocked like the smartass she was. She laughed at her comeback, though he looked almost _hurt_ by it. "You okay? It was a joke." She told him.

"I…" he started. "I, uh, I apologize for earlier." He managed to say. She laughed at how hard it was for him to apologize. Such words were foreign to him. "Why are you laughing?" he inquired.

"You apologize strangely," she snickered, playfully flicking him on the forehead. He caught her wrist in his hand almost immediately. _Ah. Right. I forgot that we're not really close yet…_

"Don't touch me."

"Sorry…" she murmured as he released her wrist. "I-I used to uh…nevermind." _I used to do that to my sister,_ was what she wanted to say, but she didn't want him to ask about her past. She didn't want him to know more about her than he should.

"You used to?" he beckoned. Misaki cleared her throat awkwardly.

"I used to bake chocolate chip cookies," she changed the subject _so very smoothly._ He raised an eyebrow.

"What does that have to do with anything," he asked, although he didn't phrase it as much of a question.

"Haha, just a fun fact?" she offered. She was never a very good liar—a trait she'd inherited from her father. Suzuna, on the other hand, was an amazing liar—a trait inherited from her mother. Her mother lied a lot. Many more times than she could even count. Her mom was good at lying indeed, she just did it so often that it was extremely suspicious. She would lie about where she was all night especially. Misaki remembered eavesdropping on many conversations where her mom would tell her dad that she was out visiting her parents, or working late—which was an obvious lie since she didn't even have a job—and her father would believe it. Misaki wasn't sure if he just let her lies slide, or if he actually believed them. Maybe he really wanted to believe they were true even though he knew well they weren't.

"Hmm. Maybe you should bake them sometime. I'd like to try them." he interrupted her thoughts. Misaki's eyes were wide in surprise at his response. He actually wanted to taste them? Well, better not tell him that she couldn't cook or bake at all then…

"Yeah, maybe," she said half-heartedly. Honestly? She couldn't even boil a pot of water without burning it. She couldn't toast a piece of bread without setting her toaster on fire. She couldn't put salt in her food without ruining all the flavor. Get the gist? Yeah, she's pretty bad at cooking.

"I'm returning to my room now. I'll send Sakura back up." he informed her, getting up with a groan.

"Ah, wait," Misaki called. He turned around and gave her a questioning look. "Thank you for…y'know, lending me your shoulder," she said.

At that moment, Takumi flashed her the brightest smile she'd ever seen on his face—not that he smiled much in the first place, but this was one of those heart-stopping grins that could make any girl fall for you. Yeah, _that_ smile.

"You're welcome."


End file.
